Cindy Emerson has worked her way up in her field of healthcare information technology rising from a contractor to an executive director over the 25 years she’s been at Providence Health, but there was always a piece that was missing. “I worked on my bachelor’s degree part-time for eight years many years ago. Life happened and I never finished my degree, so when COVID hit and I wasn’t commuting two to three hours per day, I got to thinking what am I going to do that’s different?”
After researching a few different programs, she chose University of Providence’s Healthcare Administration program because of her history with Providence Health as well as the fully online schedule and asynchronous classes.
When asked why she chose the Healthcare Administration program, Cindy stated, “I’ve been in healthcare my entire career and I’ve been embedded in operations for most of that time. The culture where I’ve worked has been to bring information technology to the table, so I have had wonderful opportunities to learn about utilization review, social determinants of health and patient access challenges to name a few. Healthcare administration seemed like the perfect complement to what I already know and has allowed me to deepen my knowledge Every class in this program has been familiar to me, so it has been a perfect fit.”
There’s never a perfect time to go back to school, especially as a full-time employee, but the healthcare administration program was created specifically for those working and is perfect for someone getting their foot in the door. “I would describe the program as giving you a good foundation for healthcare in the US. If someone is thinking about a career in healthcare, healthcare administration will give you a flavor of if you want to go deeper in other areas. If you’ve always wanted to complete your degree. It’s a great program to not be intimidated by and help you build your career. It’s a great start to learn more about the healthcare field. University of Providence is so convenient and will help you to build confidence.”
While this program wasn’t something that would necessarily progress Cindy at work, given that she’s an executive director, it has been a way for her to achieve personal goals. “This is really to give myself that check mark that those eight years I did years ago weren’t a waste.” Cindy is on track to graduate in the Spring of 2022.
